I noticed my heater doesnt get very hot, so i figured the "heater control valve" I looked and i dont have one, so i figured maybe the early 70's cars didnt have one. Untill i saw a TECH artical one it... my heater hoses go straight from the core to the engine. I replaced them so i know there isnt a heater control valve. My 70 Mach1 didnt have a valve either but i got hot air. DID that 72 come with a heater control valve? Chaz.
if im not mistaken, the heater control valve is nothing more than a bypass valve. you still have a temperature control door to mix cold and hot air. it keeps hot coolant from running through your heater core unless you call for heat. i could be wrong... :16suspect
cars with ac have one. non ac does not. there are several things you can do to try to get more heat. you can put a restrictor in the heater hose to slow down the flow through the core. ford had them for the fox mustangs because they had the same problem. you can get one from the dealer ship or make one of your own. you need to check that the blend door that routs the air through the core. lastly there should be a foam seal on the edges of the blend door that keep air from bleeding around it. you may need to replace that seal. also if you cooling system is low that can cause low heat because not alot of coolant is going into the heater core wich is located at the highest point in the system
Give your thermostat a look also. If it`s stuck open you`ll have little heat. Feel the radiator after your engine has run awhile. The side the upper hose goes to should be to hot to touch for more than a second. If not and it`s just warm the thermostat is bad.
Not trying to ruffle any feathers Bryant, but why would restricting the flow thru the core give you more heat. The longer the water is in the core the cooler it will become with the fan blowing thru it. I would think continually replacing the cooled water with hotter water would increase heat. JMO
the hot water will move slower through the core. this will allow it to heat soak longer. the air moving through will have more heat to asorb.
If the water is flying through the heater core.....then the metal part of the heater core will not have time to absorb the heat of the water. Slow it down and the heater core will soak up more of the heat out of the water. Kind of like running bare foot across hot coals. If you don't walk....and just stand there...you will burn.
On the subject of the control valve,what actually is it`s purpose on the AC cars? I removed mine (leaking) and replaced it with a manual valve. I don`t notice any difference in the AC output,whether it`s open or closed. This always pondered me,because I know Ford would not spend money on something that wasn`t needed and I don`t want to either.
I dont have AC. Ill check the T-stat and ill drop the air box and check the seals. Thanks Guys! Chaz.
Check an see if both heater hoses are hot after checking above recommendations. Back in them years heater cores usually clogged up, if both hoses are hot it should be a heater box problem or might need flow slowed down, never saw it in these cars with stock parts.
